F1 Fanatic

It will be much cooler and possibly even wet during this year's season finale

Rain or shine for the season finale? Early weather forecasts for the Brazilian Grand Prix suggest either could happen.

All year long we’ve seen the weather have a strong influence on how well the teams fare. Here are the links I’ll be using to keep an eye on the conditions at Interlagos – posts your links and forecasts below.

Geographical location of Sao Paulo

Unlike many F1 tracks the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace is actually within the city we associate it with, which makes finding weather forecasts for it a little easier.

View Larger Map

If you zoom in and switch to the satellite view you can still see portions of the original track. See this article for the configuration of the original Interlagos circuit.

Weather forecasts for Sao Paulo

Wet or dry?

At the moment, weather forecasts for this weekend are a little unclear. Accuweather are predicting rain on all three days, but local weather forecasters ClimaTempo are only calling for rain on Friday.

One forecast that should be worth keeping an eye on closer to the weekend is the Brazilian Meterological Office. I’ve only been able to find a three-day forecast for Sao Paulo but perhaps someone who speaks Portuguese can do a better job!

Temperature

Last year the combination of very hot weather and a re-surfaced track gave teams and drivers a lot of problems:

Tyre worries for drivers ahead of final

And after the race the hot temperatures caused controversy as two teams were accused of over-cooling their fuel:

Investigation could jeopardise Raikkonen’s title

This weather forecast found by local boy Becken shows the recent trend in temperatures. They’ve been in the 18-23C zone until recently, when they dipped below the 20C level.

This predicts a cooler race this year, which is two weeks later on the calendar than the 2007 race.

Ferrari ran away with the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, but with cooler temperatures and Bridgestone bringing a harder selection of tyres, expect McLaren to be much closer if not ahead of their red rivals.

More information about the final F1 race weekend of the season here

• Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Sao Paulo – circuit information
• Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Sao Paulo – spectators’ experiences
• 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix event information
• 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix weather watch